Second Time Around

We just didn't have enough time to see everything we wanted to the first time we went to the zoo. Thank goodness Grandpa has a gold membership and we are able to go as many times as we want! The kids rode the carousel three times just to make sure that they got to ride every favorite animal.

The kids were fascinated by these disgustingly huge cockroaches. Thank goodness these guys only live in Madagascar! They were huge!!

The beautiful manatees.

This funny little fish found some friends to pucker up with.

I have never noticed this exhibit before and let's just say it's the stuff straight out of a Tracie Pierce nightmare. When I first looked in I saw this huge rattlesnake slithering around. Ewww, for sure. And then I noticed another rattlesnake curled up in the corner...and then another in another corner...and then another and another. And then I noticed some gross gold snake all wrapped around the branches in the tree...and then there were a ton all curled around each other in a log. Every single place I looked, just like in my snake dreams, was another snake. It totally freaked me out!

This rhino was hilarious. He ran by us a few times and would look at us each time as if to say, "Check me out!" Then he dove into his little pool and looked right back at us which is when I got this picture. This guy seemed to enjoy being on display for everyone.

All the kids did this exercise that the zookeepers give the chimpanzees to do so they don't get bored. Each child was timed to see how quickly they could move 4 olives from the top of the maze to the bottom using a stick. Savannah was the only one to do it in under a minute but the other kids couldn't quite beat the speed of a chimp which is on average 1 minute 17 seconds.

What a bunch of monkeys!

Savannah and her lions. The white lions at the Cincinnati zoo are on loan from Siegfried and Roy in Las Vegas and are absolutely beautiful!

Another fun day at the zoo!

Our Hiking Adventure

There is a nature preserve by my parent's house that is our "go to" hiking spot whenever we are in Cinci. However this visit Grandpa found us a new spot. Everyone is ready for an adventure!

Noah wanted to be like Indiana Jones and looped some rope at his waist. One never knows when some rope is going to come in handy.

Grandpa spent some time instructing the kids on the finer points of skipping rocks. By the time we left most of them had it down. Xander's 7 skips ended up being the kids' record!

I found some deer tracks to show the kids but when I asked Noah to come take a picture by them he hurried over...and stepped all over the tracks, obliterating them! Thank goodness we came across some more and I was able to get my picture.

Whenever we come across places like this on hikes I always tell the kids we came out to this place to show them our new home. This time they thought it was so cool and were all ready to move in. Scary!

A little limbo under the log. How low can you go?

And there it is - the rope DID come in handy. Noah used it to help Ashlyn cross the stream.

The fun is never ending when we are in Cincinnati!

Museums

A morning spent at the Children's Museum is always a favorite with the kids when we visit Grandma and Grandpa. They have so many fun activities and stations for the kids that we always end up spending a few hours there.

Grandpa always helps the kids build the arch.

Some cute workers at the deli serving Grandpa some delicious food.

These cute little guys can ring up my groceries any day!

After a few hours we broke for some lunch and then headed over to the Museum of Natural History. We have never been to this museum before but I was pretty sure that the kids would enjoy it. And they sure did!

Ashie and Noah got a kick out of this old-time toilet. Kids are sure weird sometimes!

I love all the expressions in this picture in front of the Egyptian mummy.

The man-made cave was probably the highlight of our time there. The kids loved making their way through the dark tunnels, up and down the winding stairs, and looking at all the various bugs and animals that can be found in caves.

There were so many fun displays of bones and animals!

And we even got chased by the huge T-Rex!

Zoo Time

For being a smaller city Cincinnati has one of the best zoos! Visiting the zoo is always a favorite activity of ours when we visit Grandma and Grandpa.

EVERY child must get their OWN map so we can figure out where we are going and what we want to see.

Hanging out with the cute little penguins.

The zoo had several new babies in the nursery including the cutest little cheetah kitten named Savannah.

Savannah with Savannah.

The kids love feeding and brushing the goats. Personally I think it's a little gross to have animals slobbering all over you.

The train ride!

Throughout the zoo are stationed zoo workers with various animals that kids can get close to and pet. Check out Noah with the python! Yuck!

Waiting patiently for our favorite, the cheetah run, to start.

It never ceases to amaze me how FAST these cheetahs can run. It is quite an exhilarating experience to see it in person!

My personal favorite, the gorillas. This zoo has such an amazing gorilla exhibit!

Always a fun time!